The William & Mary School of Education jumped 9 spots to 46th in the 2018 U.S. News & World ReportBest Graduate Schools rankings released today, tied with Purdue University.

In this year’s ranking, the school fared particularly well on ratings of quality as measured by a survey of school superintendents, hiring partners and experts familiar with the school. “Our strong reputation among superintendents and others who hire our graduates is especially gratifying,” said Spencer Niles, dean of the School of Education. “It speaks both to the outstanding instruction our faculty provides, as well as the tremendous impact our graduates are having as teachers, counselors, school psychologists, researchers, advocates and leaders.”

With 536 graduate students enrolled in 2016, the school is one of the smallest schools of education to be included in the top 50. “Our professors strike an excellent balance between expanding the reach of the school and maintaining the close faculty-student connections that are a hallmark of the William & Mary experience,” said Niles.

The rankings also reflect steady gains in research activity at the school, with $6.7 million in total research expenditures reported, up from $5.2 million last year. The school named its first associate dean of research in 2016 with the hiring of Thomas Farmer ’83, who brings more than 20 years of experience and deep knowledge of the educational research arena. “Research tends to be most effective when it is woven into the fabric of the education process, so we’re building toward an environment where synergies between research, teaching, service and community engagement are seamless,” said Farmer.

Influential, ongoing research is at the heart of the school’s mission to transform students, schools and communities. “Our commitments to innovative teaching, actionable research, and transformative partnerships are making a huge difference not only for our students, but for the many lives they will touch over the course of their careers,” said Niles. “I am pleased to see the hard work of so many talented educators recognized in this year’s rankings.”

The rankings, released every spring, take into account both data from the schools and opinions of experts in the field. Rankings are calculated based on 10 measures including quality assessment, student selectivity, faculty resources and research activities. Learn more about the ranking methodology.